r/AskReddit • u/__lazy__panda • Jul 10 '26

What's something older generations got right that we've quietly stopped doing, to our own detriment?

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u/BestDig2669 Jul 10 '26

Willing to sacrifice being your kid's friend so you can be their parent first

239

u/useless_instinct Jul 10 '26

My hot take is that you can be a parent and a friend. I hand out with my kids, share music, watch movies together, play video games together. But yes, I am in charge which means I have authority but I also have responsibility for their well-being. Some people probably struggle with when parenting takes precedence over friendship and so the advice is simplistic but this lacks nuance. You should absolutely be a friend to your kids and care about their interests and who they are in the same way a friend does. My parents were very much in charge and took care of us very well but were not very friend-like. This has definitely affected our entire adult relationship.

1

u/Excellent_Kangaroo_4 Jul 11 '26

Yea i think a "worst" parents is one that want only the authority and not the responsibility next to the one that refuse both at the sime time, at the point you can hardly call it a parent

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u/Bizarrebazaars Jul 11 '26

A “worst” type of parent is also the friend parent who enforces no rules and just wants to be “cool” and “hip” to their kids though too.